Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government will consider amending the Childcare Act 2006 to allow registered childminders to claim funded childcare hours for children to whom they are related, where all regulatory requirements are met.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Parents are free to choose the childcare that is right for them and their children, and childminders are not prevented from caring for related children. However, the restriction on funding relatives is set out in the Childcare Act (2006). Section 18(4) of this Act specifically excludes care provided for a child by a parent or other relative.
This approach avoids creating an incentive for adults to register to become childminders and being paid to look after related children that they are already looking after on an informal basis. Allowing childminders to receive funding for looking after related children would not be an effective use of public money.
A local authority can choose to fund a childminder providing childcare for a related child, but this would have to be from local authority funds independent of the Dedicated Schools Grant.
Although childminders cannot receive entitlements funding for related children, flexibilities within staff-to-child ratios can be used to enable childminders who are caring for related children to avoid limiting the income they can earn.
We have no plans to change this long-standing position at this time.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered mandating the incorporation of the National Conditions of Service for Teachers in England and Wales 2023 into employment contracts for teachers in academies.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale to the answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 80414.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of requiring academy trusts to incorporate the National Conditions of Service for Teachers in England and Wales 2023 into the contracts of employment of teachers; and if she will bring forward legislation to make such incorporation mandatory.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The National Conditions of Service for Teachers in England and Wales is a national agreement between local authority school employers and teaching and headteacher unions. The government has no input into the agreement or its implementation. As it has no statutory force, while maintained schools are expected to incorporate its provisions into teachers’ contracts, there is no legal obligation for them to do so. Academies will, following the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, be required to “have regard” to the entirety of the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve retention rates among Design and Technology teachers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
High-quality teaching is the most important in-school factor to a child’s educational outcomes. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This is why the department will recruit 6,500 new expert teachers.
The 2024/25 initial teacher training (ITT) census reported 618 trainees had begun courses in design technology, up from 334 trainees in 2021/22. The department offered a £25,000 tax-free bursary for design technology teacher training in 2024/25 and increased this to £26,000 for courses starting in 2025/26.
A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy, and we want to ensure teachers of all subjects and phases stay and thrive in this profession. The department agreed a 5.5% pay award for teachers in the 2024/25 academic year and has taken steps to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing, and enable greater flexible working, to support retention and help re-establish teaching as an attractive profession.
High-quality continuing professional development is also key to ensuring the retention of an effective teaching workforce. The department has established teaching school hubs across the country, who play a significant role in delivering ITT, the early career framework, and national professional qualifications. Star Teaching School Hub North West Lancashire and One Cumbria Teaching School Hub are both centres of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Lancaster, Westmorland and Furness.